Foreword by Margaret Russell 8

Introduction 10
Before You Get Started 12

less is more 14
more is more 86
brancholina 168
high & low 212
Bouquet Guide 270
Tools & Materials 276
Resources 280
Acknowledgments 284
Index 286
introduction
I can’t IMAGINE life without color or flowers. I am so glad that I was born
after the Technicolor revolution. Don’t get me wrong: some things are vastly
improved in black and white, like hideous family pictures. But color is my
passion, and I can’t think of a better way to express that passion than through
flowers. They make a room happy—and often change the look of it altogether.

I tend toward hot and spicy colors; it must be the Latin in me. I want flower
arrangements that remind me of the sun, the beautiful beaches of Venezuela,
parties in Caracas (now that’s where you’ll see the most beautiful flower deco-
rations), the vibrant jungle, orchids, the rain, delicious fruit in every color, and
the crystalline Caribbean. Everything in South America is so vivid and strong
that I can see it even from my soothing lavender bedroom in New York. You
won’t be surprised to know that my motto is “White is not a color.” For me, the
only things that should be white are linens, towels, underpants, and, possibly,
a wedding gown!

Though I love vivid and exotic colors, that doesn’t mean I have hours to
spend putting together fussy bouquets for my kitchen or bedroom. In fact, the
simpler something is, the more I love it. So I’ve come up with quick methods
for making beautiful yet uncomplicated arrangements. Here, I’ll show you
100 ways to put together flower arrangements that are so simple to make, you
will never need more than three different kinds of flowers—and most of them
can be found at any flower store or even the supermarket or corner deli. Often
the only effort you will need to invest is a quick trip to one of these places or
just to your backyard to pick a simple rose or cut a branch. You will see how
easy and simple it is to have flowers in your life every day. When you wake
up in the morning, it’s uplifting to have a sweet arrangement by your bed, or
when you walk into your home after a terrible day, it’s nice to be greeted by
the splash of color from a few orchids. If you are having people over, make the
effort to have that extra flower on the table.

Throughout, you’ll run into many of my tricks, such as using herbs and
branches to fill out an arrangement, grouping vases of similar shades to-
gether, and deconstructing those clumsy, inexpensive bouquets that you find
already made up to create something really elegant. You’ll learn my secret of

10
“high low,” where I put something tall next to something short, or mix expen-
sive with cheap—simple compositions like these produce magical results. I
like fancy English garden roses next to inexpensive pom-poms, and I find a
little whimsical touch never hurts, such as using antique baby shoes as vases
or adding a bird’s nest to complete a wintry arrangement. But don’t mix too
many flower varieties. The strongest effects often come when you use just one
kind of bloom. I love fabulous color combinations and playing off the shades
in a room so that an arrangement works with the art in a room—or stands out
as a work of art in itself. Most important, I will show you how significant the
vessel you use is and how you can often find interesting vessels in the most
unusual—or should I say usual—places. You’ll think twice about throwing away
beer bottles and tea tins!

Flowers are chic and beautiful on their own. Don’t fuss with them. Don’t be
scared of them. After all, a glass of water with a single peony is as beautiful,
and maybe even more so, than a tortured vase of ten. What’s more, regardless
of where you live these days, you can find nice flowers that are inexpensive, so
there’s really no excuse not to have them in your house, ALWAYS, even if it is
just a single stem in your bathroom or living room.

I don’t consider myself a flower expert; I can’t even remember the names of
most varieties! I just pick whatever is beautiful—usually a peony—and call it a
day. On my frequent work travels styling rooms for magazines, one of the first
things I do in a new place is go to the flower market or any interesting florist,
or even the local museum for a visit to the Dutch and Flemish still life paint-
ings. I always find inspiration somewhere.

So look around you, even when you are crazily running errands, and find
inspiration. This book will give you quick instructions on how to make many
arrangements. And, as is true of any “recipe,” if you are missing a couple of in-
gredients, you can always create your own variation, whether by substituting
a branch from your yard for flowers, or a soup can for a bottle. There are no
rules. Once you learn how easy it is to throw together an elegant arrangement,
you’ll never want to live without one again.

introduction 11
 I j NY
What else can I say about this iconic New York logo? I have been living in
New York for many years, and I am crazy about the city. I found these paper
coffee cups (see previous page) in a tourist store. I’ve seen ceramic mugs with
the iconic heart in airports, but I love the humility of the paper cup. The image
is clean and fresh, and the purity of the white peonies with the street style of
the graphic is very cool. This arrangement will last about three days, but the
cup may get a little soggy, so it’s best to make it for a specific event: maybe to
celebrate a friend’s moving to New York or for a Woody Allen movie night?

Tissue paper
Glue
4 I j NY paper cups (You can
really use any paper cup. If
you like blue and white, you
could do this with some of
the traditional coffee cups
used in diners and coffee
carts, or, for a child’s birth-
day, you could do this with
paper birthday party cups.)
Stuff a sheet of tissue paper between each cup, and put a dot of
glue (such as Elmer’s) at the bottom of each cup.
Fill the top cup one quarter full with water, just to cover
the stem.
The weight of the water will keep the cups from falling, but
you can add a couple of pebbles to the bottom cup if you’re
concerned about the cups’ tipping over.
Cut the stems very short, so that they rest on the side of
the cup and so the flower pops in the top cup. Even though the
flowers are very close together, still cut the stems at slightly
­different lengths so that one is a little higher than the other,
about a quarter of an inch difference.

2 perfect white peonies

 I j NY green mug
I love the bright green of this mug. How cute would it be to have one of these
in front of each guest’s place setting at a holiday party? Everyone can take the
mug home as a party gift.

18 carnations Cut the carnations the same height as the mug. To make your
bouquet, start by placing a single layer—six to eight—of car-
1 I j NY green mug
nations around the rim of the mug. Then add a second inner
5 green pom-pom carnations layer of carnations by resting more carnations on the first layer.
­Continue in this way until you have a dome of carnations,
­creating the effect of one large ruffle. Finally, add the pom-poms
to the bouquet in random groups of three to five.
 about 5 stems of mint

2 tall Perrier bottles

3 shorter
beer bottles

about 8
rosemary
branches
 after party
This arrangement is made up entirely of herbs and recycled Perrier and beer
bottles from last night’s party, but you can do this with any bottles that come in
good colors. Personally, I love this fabulous emerald green.
Once you have taken the labels off your bottles, which you can do by soaking
them in hot water until the label and glue easily scrub off, you need a few beauti-
ful herbs, either from the garden or the supermarket. I love the monotone look
here, and to achieve it, I used rosemary and mint. Not only does this arrange-
ment look beautiful but it smells delicious, too.
This makes sense in a kitchen, of course, but that is not the only place for this
decoration. A row of three on your mantel or in your bathroom, where the scent
will really be appreciated, would be wonderful.

About 5 stems of mint Randomly divide the mint and the rosemary among the bottles,
keeping the lengths somewhat the same.
About 8 rosemary branches
There are no rules here: use two stems of rosemary in one
2 tall Perrier bottles vase, mix rosemary and mint in another. What is important is
to keep the arrangement high, so the herbs should be twice as
3 shorter beer bottles tall as the Perrier bottles. Make sure that the branches go in
both directions so you get that pretty V shape rather than hav-
ing them look as though they are blowing in the same direction!

less is
spring
more 8833